Tactical-level artillery units will use the new complex to spot ammunition depots and missile systems

ZHUKOVSKY, July 21. /TASS/. Russia will start work soon to develop a radar system mounted on a helicopter-type drone for artillery reconnaissance, a source in the Russian defense sector told TASS on Friday.

"The basic goal is to develop a reconnaissance radar complex based on a helicopter-type drone to track mobile and immobile targets. The complex’s development will soon begin," the source said at the MAKS-2017 international airshow.

Tactical-level artillery units will use the new complex to spot ammunition depots, missile systems, armored and other mechanized units in the areas of amassment, the source noted.

"In our estimate, the complex will be able to track at least 50 ground targets, transmit data to command posts and also operate in the daytime, at night and in some complex weather conditions," the source added.

Commenting on the decision to develop the complex, Editor-in-Chief of Bespilotnaya Aviatsiya (Unmanned Aviation) magazine Denis Fedutinov said that missions for detecting ground targets could be accomplished more effectively with the use of integrated reconnaissance and surveillance means that included both electro-optical and radar systems.

"This circumstance, among other things, causes the interest of military customers to mount this equipment on advanced UAV systems that have become a priority direction of military hardware development in recent years," Fedutinov told TASS.

Russia already made attempts to equip helicopter-type drones with radar systems, he noted.

"For these purposes, in particular, attempts were made to use foreign-made drones - the Austrian Camcopter S100 developed by Schiebel and the Belarusian InSKY developed by Indela," the expert said.